The present invention relates to an image forming solvent applying device in which a recording material is immersed in an image forming solvent so as to be coated with the latter.
An image forming device is known in the art in which an image is formed by exposing a photosensitive material to a light beam reflected from or passed through an original or a light beam obtained by photoelectric conversion of electrical signals. In addition, another image forming device is known in the art in which an image formed on a photosensitive material is transferred onto an image receiving material.
For some recording materials such as photosensitive materials and image receiving materials, it is necessary to apply an image forming solvent such as water. For this purpose, an image forming solvent applying device is used to coat a recording material with an image forming solvent.
In one example of an image forming solvent applying device, a recording material is coated with an image forming solvent using a roller bearing the solvent. In another example of such an apparatus, a recording material is immersed in an image forming solvent, and the excess image forming solvent is removed therefrom.
In the case of the latter image forming solvent applying apparatus, when the solvent is supplied into the solvent vessel, air may be mixed in the form of bubbles with the solvent. If the bubbles are larger than about 3 mm in diameter, frequently they float in the solvent or stick to the inner wall of the solvent vessel or to a recording material guide member.
When air bubbles stick to the recording surface of the recording material, the parts of the recording surface to which the air bubbles have been stuck are not coated with the image forming solvent; that is, the recording material is not completely coated with the image forming solvent. Even if the recording material is subjected to an image forming treatment, no image is formed in such parts. If the material is a positive recording material, then the resultant image will have white bubble-like spots. That is, if the image forming treatment is carried out with such air bubbles stuck to the recording surface of the recording material, then the image formed thereon will be defective.
In the case where the guide member for guiding the recording material in the solvent has a protrusion extending in the guiding direction so as to prevent the adhesion of the guide member to the recording material, the stress applied to the recording material is not uniform in distribution because the same part of the recording material is brought into sliding contact with the protrusion. Therefore, if the recording material is a photosensitive material, after it is developed, its density will be increased by pressure sensitization or decreased by pressure desensitization, and hence the resultant image is unsatisfactory.